Messages

I installed a new oil pressure alarm switch over the weekend. It turned out to be not nearly as difficult as I anticipated. The key is removing the front wooden panel on the engine compartment. I then could get a box wrench on the nut used to tighten or loosen the oil pressure sender. Once it was out of the way, I could get large adjustable pliers on the body of the alarm switch and break it loose. I tidied up the small amount of oil that leaked out, installed the new switch and then the old sender, attached the wires to both units and tested the engine.

Unfortunately the new alarm switch didn't make much difference. The oil pressure gauge works fine, but the alarm buzzer still does not sound when the engine key switch is turned to the first position. When the key is turned further just briefly to engage the solenoid and glow plugs, and then returned to the first position, the alarm buzzer sounds. It does not sound after the engine is shut down and the key is left in the first position. I have no idea if the alarm will sound if I lose oil pressure underway. I suspect not.

Ah well, at least with Ken's help  I now know how the alarm system works and I feel more confident about dealing with its various components. I will improve the wiring at the oil switch terminal as Ken recommended and then lick my wounds...literally, as the wrench work in very tight quarters is not easy easy on the old bod.

It is an inspection port. Most owners use Teflon tape to make it leak proof. Try one of those big plumbers wrenches but be gentle.

An additional note. Before buying the Rocna I tried the Vulcan. It didn't fit nearly as well as the Rocna.  I would have needed a bigger bale. In addition, because of the shape of the shank it was harder to get the anchor to sit down on the roller. Finally, because of the shape the Vulcan would immediate launch itself if it wasn't properly tethered. I imagined the Vulcan, 150 ft of chain and 200 ft of rode piling into the water while I was beating to weather in 600 ft of water. The Rocna needs to be secured obviously, but it does sit quietly on the bow roller. Case closed.  BTW it does set immediately and dig in as advertised.

I've noticed the same phenomenon on occasion. I go through periods when I get silence when I turn on the key, then an anemic beeping after engaging then disengaging the glow plugs. It is not "normal" as the alarm should sound whenever there is no oil pressure.  BTW, I regularly dose the internals of my key switch with a contact cleaner to no ill effect. A new switch cost about $35.

I have not tried to take off the old alarm switch yet. Thanks for the reference to the tech wiki.

A final note. This alarm switch problem is quite common. Over the last few weeks I've talked to a number of 34MkII owners whose alarm has not worked properly for a long time. Maybe only obsessive compulsives worry about it😬😬😬

Just received a new oil pressure alarm switch. I understand that polarity of the switch is not an issue,  but before trying to replace the switch I wondered if the old one can be spun off by hand and the new one spun on the same way. Or is a wrench required for both removal and installation?

I have a Rocna standard/original 15kg anchor, 150 ft of 1/4" G-4 chain, 200 ft of rode, Maxwell 500 windlass and the standard 1999 roller with the OEM bale. No anchor swivel. The anchor regularly comes up without touching the gel coat or hitting the Schaefer furler drum. I raise the anchor with the windlass until the shank just touches the roller and then take it aboard by hand. No problem. Occasionally I have to drag the Rocna at slow speed to clean off the mud and have never made contact with the gel coat. When underway, it fits snuggly under the bale. I pull it tight along the roller using my anchor hook and line and use a u-shaped piece of starboard to pin it tightly to the roller to reduce anchor movement in a seaway. I have just ordered a Mantus S1 swivel to make it easier to orient the anchor before pulling it aboard.

With everything off at the electrical panel, my monitor shows a 6 amp draw when the engine key switch is turned to the first position (engine instrument panel powered up, buzzer out of commission and glow plugs not engaged). Would the panel draw that much or is something else going on? Any suggestions?

The interface was very cool with lots of 50 degrees F salt water spraying out of it at high revs. 😬😬😬

Since the graphite/S donut surface is clean, I have had no water spray for several years of normal operation, and the spraying only occurred when I pushed the revs up to 2500 and above when the boat was tied to the dock, I am satisfied that the problem was the engine surging forward on its mounts, causing slack in the bellows and thus leakage. My advice: pay close attention to the shaft seal if running the engine under substantial load at the dock. Thanks everyone for the contributions.

I had the same problem a few years ago. Thought it was the transducer itself but it turned out that it was the electrical connection. There was a Raymarine connector at the bottom the of the binnacle tube that needed a bit of contact cleaner spray. Problem solved.

Yes that was the maximum noise. But I occasionally get a healthy beeping that is easily differentiated from the wheezy anemic mode.

Bloody hell, we have now developed a spectrum of literary descriptors for the performance of this silly switch. Maybe I need a life🙁

Thanks Ken. I appreciate you taking up this file again. I will, in due course, try a new switch and report back.

If the switch is the problem then it's behaviour is erratic, either silent, anemic or full throated. My sense is that it never changes behaviour once it starts up. It's either anemic, loud or completely silent for that cycle. I have never had it change from one mode to another once it starts.

I did burp it and it also burped itself by spraying water everywhere😬😬😬

Thanks for comments so far. Looking over my post I note that it wasn't clear about the question which is: would the engine move forward on its mounts MORE at the dock than when underway. This matters only if you have a shaft seal because the stainless steel donut fitting on the shaft would move forward with the engine thereby reducing the tightness of the connection between the graphite face and the donut.

In my case, I am virtually certain this was the case since the shaft seal sprayed water at the dock but has never done so underway. The explanation might be that the engine places more forward stress on the mounts at the dock because the pressure of the prop pushing the boat forward is not offset by the boat actually moving forward.

In the course of adjusting my throttle cable to allow my Universal M35BC to produce full power, a strange thing happened. As I pushed the engine under load AT THE DOCK up to 2500rpm, the top of the recommended cruising range, my shaft seal began to spray salt water. I have used PSS shaft seals for many years and this had never happened before at any power level up to 2500rpm.

My first thought was engine alignment but I checked it out and it was fine. Then I tightened up on the bellows by about 1/4" and the problem went away. But then I wondered if the culprit was putting the boat under heavy load at the dock. My question is: when powering up at the dock, will the engine surge further forward on its mounts than it would underway? And could it do so enough to cause the shaft seal interface to become so loose it would begin to leak? Any views on this?